Dancing Drama Queen

Matilda had her first ballet class today.



It was drama from the start. She screamed as we put on her leotard, tights and shoes. She cried as I put her hair up. She sniffled and snuggled her lovies for a while before being ready to take the car trip over to her dance studio. Once we arrived, she was social, friendly, and interested! I was so hopeful! She kept talking about dancing and "music class." Before class started, she was having a great time running around in one of the empty studios.



But once class got underway, it was all tears. I had to sit in with her, and aside from one log roll and stacking up some tambourines, she was not enjoying herself at all. To be fair, there was only 1 other little girl in the class and she was crying too. They sort of just fed off eachother. Even when Matilda did stop crying for a few minutes she would tap me on the shoulder and say "Mama, I still cwying." But we're going to keep trying. We'll give it another go next Wednesday and if that doesn't work out, we'll switch to the (more full) Monday class that supposedly has braver girls in it.



And it was totally worth it--she's so stinking cute in her little leo and ballet shoes!

Baby's Got Back

I went back and forth a little on whether or not to post this picture, but it has been making me giggle every time I see it for over a week now, and I thought I'd share the joy that only my chubby little cherub can bring. I'll post it again when she gets married.

Dancing in a Fountain at Beerfest

We took the girls to visit friends this weekend and went to a beer festival. The kids had a great time playing in the fountains and keeping the heat at bay while the grownups spent some time catching up and tasting micrbrews--a rather nice way to spend a Saturday!

Yesterday was another HOT August day in the Fox Valley. We have been trying to take the girls out early before the heat becomes unbearable. For a change of pace, we went to the Cosley Zoo! It's the perfect size for letting Matilda walk and explore. It is full of animals that she knows--farm animals, ducks, deer, birds, turtles, etc. She even pet a pony and a sheep!
It was small enough that we were able to see everything (at Matilda's walking pace) in about 30 minutes. Then we circled back around and let her visit her favorites again. She was so excited to see all these creatures moving around and doing their animal things. As you can see in the video, nearly all the animals (with the dignified exception of the turtle) were "EATIN'!"
We finished our visit just in time to get some lunch and head home for nap.
Matilda was so excited she was still talking about the zoo and the peacocks and the sheep and the turtle this morning.
With free admission for children and only $3 for adults, we'll surely return for another visit!

August

I'll admit it, I kind of hate August. No holidays, it's super hot, and it feels like it's always been hot and always will be hot.
But, it's still part of summer, and summer is supposed to be fun! So, I turned to Go West Young Mom! to find something new and fun to do.

So, today, we went to the Sprayground on a playdate! The girls had a great time. Matilda took a little while to just size everything up, but before I knew it, she was running all over, trying out the water cannons and testing all the sprinklers and sprayers. The only thing she didn't try was the mist tunnel.

Even Evelyn had a good time crawling around for a while and splashing on the zero-depth rubber "pool" that this is on. After about an hour, the kids were ready for snacks and a little drying off on the traditional playground before stopping for lunch at McDonald's and then heading home for a nice long nap.

Oh, and did I mention the Sprayground is free? Yeah. That's awesome!

I feel pretty

She's 2. She calls my makeup "treasure."



She loves to open up the Caboodles case and look at every little piece.




She picked out that dress to wear for a play date. She looked lovely.

Pizzzzzzzzzzza

This is what happens when Matilda skips her nap. So tired she falls asleep eating her very favorite food.

Now We're Cooking!

Grandma and Grandpa gave this wonderful kitchen to the girls last week and Matilda and Evelyn can't get enough of it! They play with it every single day, and they play nicely together. it's cute as can be and we all love it!

Sisters...

are marvelous playthings.

Pinch?

Get a load of these thighs!



She's totally going to be walking soon.

So Happy Together

As Evelyn becomes more mobile, the girls spend more and more time together, whether Matilda likes it or not! (Usually, she likes it)

Evelyn's First Fish Boil

Evelyn attended her first fish boil over the Fourth of July weekend in Wisconsin. The weather was perfect. The girls had a great time playing outside, hanging out with the grandparents, and watching the fish boil. Then it was time for dinner. If I haven't mentioned it before, Evelyn loves to eat!I brought along some graham cracker pretzels to keep her occupied, but that wasn't enough. As the bowl of coleslaw was passed around the table, Evelyn reached out and grabbed a fist full right out of the bowl and went to town! She ended up eating tons of coleslaw, all her graham pretzels and a little bit of fish. Which evens things out, I guess, considering that Matilda wouldn't touch her dinner.

Oscar The Grouch

She ate avocado. I think she even got some in her mouth. Ed said she looked like Oscar The Grouch. It was turning brown before our eyes. She went straight to the shower after this picture was taken.

Matilda's 2nd Birthday

We spent Matilda's second birthday in Wisconsin at the lake with Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa Mike. The girls had a great time. In the morning, we woke Matilda up by coming into her room and singing "Happy Birthday" and covering her in kisses. She liked it so much that the next day she started singing it to herself when it was time to get up, and she still does sometimes! After breakfast we dressed the girls up in their party dresses and took tons of pictures outside, just like we did for her first birthday. She has changed so much. After pictures and play time, we opened presents. Matilda received so many nice things--a magnifying glass and kaleidoscope, lots of books, blocks, stuffed animals, play food, a singing cow, Wonder Pets beanie babies, and a really cool police pedal car! After presents, we had a birthday lunch of Matilda's current favorite foods--watermelon and pizza. Then it was time for cake. I made her a yellow butter confetti cake with chocolate fudge frosting. Joanne got a #2 candle and we blew it out together. Matilda was sticking her fingers in the frosting before I could even cut a slice for her. She was not interested in the cake, but loved the frosting. Luckily, Evelyn was more than happy to help eat the cake. It was a great day. That night, after the girls were tucked into bed, Ed and I made chateaubriand with bernaise sauce, chateau potatoes and champagne for a nice dinner to celebrate the Fourth of July and 2 years of being parents.

The whole weekend was lovely, I'll share more pictures soon.

Baby Cage

California

Ed took a trip to California with his buddies in June. The started in San Diego, went to L.A., visited Santa Barbara, drove up PCH1, camped in Big Sur, wine tasted in Monteray, and ended in San Fransisco. I'll let him caption the pictures for you:

La Jolla Cliffs

On Duty

Real manly men in Santa Barbara



Inland California

Salvang, the Danish town. Also, plenty of wine

Camping in Montana del Oro State Park. They warned us to watch out for Mountain Lions

Responsibly enjoying a breakfast beer before climbing the huge rock behind me in Montana del Oro

Elephant Nosed Sea Lions on the coast

We spent 3 days camping among the redwoods in Big Sur.

Climbing to Waterfalls in Julia Pfeiffer State Park

Enjoying a subtle drink in Monterray

a good friend

The California Pacific Highway was beautiful

and terrifying

Bigsby Bridge

A big Redwood in our Big Sur camp site

Posing with said redwood

My only photo of San Francisco, my least favorite town in california.

Happy Birthday!

Dear Matilda,
Today you turn two! It’s both hard to believe that you’re already two, and hard to remember a time when you weren’t here. We love you so much and hope that today is really special for you.

It’s a little cloudy out this morning, and we all stayed in bed a bit longer than usual. At 8:30, Daddy, Evelyn and I all burst into your room to sing “Happy Birthday” to you. You were already sitting up in bed, talking to yourself and reading a book. For breakfast you wanted a cup of milk and to hold a banana. You held that banana for over an hour. Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa Mike are all here to celebrate with you today. In a little while you’ll get a shower (or at least a hot tub!) to get cleaned up, and after nap, I’ll put you in your party dress and take pictures. We’ll give you presents and for lunch you’ll have pizza and watermelon because they are your favorites. I made you a cake. It’s a confetti yellow butter cake with chocolate frosting and red white and blue stars. This morning, I showed it to you and asked if you liked it. You assured me that it was a birthday cake and that you do like it. For dinner (which you usually aren’t too interested in) Daddy will make Chateau Briand to celebrate the 4th of July and 2 years of being your parents. We will spend all day thinking about you and I’ll probably come back to the blog several times just to look at your baby pictures.

You have grown and changed so much in this second year of life. We are so proud of you, the things you are learning, and the little person you are becoming.

You are smart. You are REALLY smart. You’ve been able to count to 10 for ages. You can also count to 10 in Spanish, you can almost count to 20 on your own, you can read Arabic numerals, you can count objects, you know your abcs, colors, shapes, at least 100 animals and their sounds, I think you might know more Spanish words than I do and you conjugate at least one verb properly. I have long ago lost track of how many English words you know. Hundreds? A Thousand? You speak in sentences now. You know at least 5 songs by heart and sing them in tempo with a pretty little tone. You know who is in your family and ask about them when they’re not around.

You are big! You are nearly 3 feet tall already! You wear 2 and 3T clothes and 6 ½-7 shoes. You have all your teeth except your 2 year molars. Your hair is long enough to wear in pig tails, but not quite in a pony tail yet. You hate it when I put your hair up unless I give you something really good to play with while I do it. I do it anyway because it’s so stinking cute. You love to swing at the park and to walk and run. You sing simple little songs while you do it “walk, walk, walk” and “run, run, run! It’s fun, fun, fun!” When we go on walks you like to stop and crouch down and won’t get up until we say “Ready, set, go!” and then you take off like you’re running a race. You can go up and down stairs standing up if we hold your hand and you have started taking some small steps (like off the sidewalk at the playground) standing up all on your own. You are careful and cautious, but are becoming more adventurous, you’re even beginning to go down slides on your bottom instead of your tummy. You like to dance, turn around, shake, and walk on your heels. You love to be tickled. You have been sleeping in a big girl bed for a couple months now, ever since you tried to climb out of your crib. You were singing while you did it. “I climb! I climb! I’m STRONG!” You love to play chase with Daddy; you yell “I’m gonna get you!” and the game is afoot! It's hard to believe that a year ago, you weren't even walking yet.

You are imaginative. Six months ago you loved Yo Gabba Gabba, but now, you adore The Wonderpets and you love to pretend that you are saving animals just like them. You tell me every day that “there’s an animal in trouble!” and “this. Is. Sewious.” You make and serve me pretend tea and cookies. You pretend to be cold and it always makes us laugh the way you ball up your fists, open your eyes wide, grit your teeth and try to shiver. Your baby dolls and stuffed animals and bath toys all go on adventures every day.

You are loving. You greet me and Daddy with heart-melting phrases like “I love you, Daddy, you’re my best friend!” and “I missed you, Mommy! I love you so much!” You are quick to tell me if Evelyn is crying and you try to comfort her, telling her that “it’s ok, baby.” You don’t mind sharing your toys or my attention with your little sister and she adores you. You love the dogs and share everything with Laddie—even your cookies and cheese!

You thrive on your routine. You wake up early every morning. You’re almost always the first one up. But you usually just play quietly in your room until Evelyn gets up. Then you start your day with a cup of milk and some cereal. You tell Daddy and me that you love us as you wander around the room and play with Evelyn. Every afternoon you nap from 11:30-2 before having a little lunch. You never eat very much, but you do have some favorite things—chicken, pizza, salmon, turkey mini meat loves, watermelon, prunes, cheerios, raisins, and of course chips and cookies! You like to color and go to the park and when Daddy gets home we all have dinner together. After dinner you and Evelyn take a shower. You like showers better than baths. Then you get your jammies and Daddy reads you stories and puts you down in your big girl bed. You love stories. Your favorites right now are Mr. Brown Can Moo and Go, Dog, Go! You hate to have your door shut. We put up a gate to keep you safe. Most nights you’ll try to get up a few times before you’ll really go to sleep. We walk towards your room and as soon as you see us, you run across the room and jump into bed. You think this is hilarious. Secretly, we do to, but we try to be serious about it.

In your second year, you have been on a car trip to South Dakota in August to visit your great grandma Shirley. We flew out to Rhode Island for Uncle Eric’s thesis defense (he graduated in May). We went to Cape Cod for a week and 3 weeks after we got home, you became a big sister! You’ve been a sweet and gentle big sister from the start and have shown very little jealousy at all, it’s been wonderful to see you get to know each other. We spent Thanksgiving at home just the four of us, and Christmas in Geneva with Grandma, Grandpa, Eric and Kim. Grandpa Mike, Natalie, Chase and Boston came to visit in December and you loved playing with “Bossy.” In March, Grandpa Mike retired and we went to Indianapolis to have a party and you got to play with Boston again. In April and May we visited Door County. In June, Daddy took a trip to California and Beth came to visit us and then we went to Indianapolis to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. Every couple of weeks, we have play group and you play with your best friend, Sam. He’s a few months older than you, but you guys have a great time together and are always happy to see each other. And Sam’s mommy makes yummy snacks that you love.

You have changed our lives. They are so much richer now with your hugs and kisses, play time and chatter. Even with the “terrible twos” I’m excited to see you every morning and it’s such a joy to watch you grow and explore. We love every little thing about you, always have, and always will.



Happy Birthday, sweet girl!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Already

Tomorrow I will no longer be the mother of "two under two." My first baby is turning into a little girl before my eyes. She wears pigtails! They make her look so big!

She is so big!

She's barely a baby anymore.

8 Months

Evelyn is 8 months old now. She can crawl so fast that I occasionally lose track of her, she can pull herself up to standing on furniture. She is beginning to cruise. She has 5 teeth and loves Cheerios, but has not had any babyfood yet. She is over 20 pounds! She is still a full-time nurser. She does not sleep through the night. She has perfect skin and looks great in bright colors. She is cheerful and easy to please and smiles and laughs more often than not. She is vocalizing all sorts of sounds (including Mamama and Da!) She loves to see Matilda and will follow her just about anywhere. She pulls my hair almost every day, but mostly leaves my glasses alone. She knows her name. She likes to take showers and she rolls around on the shower floor, squeaking and squealing in the most amusing way. Changing her diaper or her clothes is like a wrestling match--one I sometimes think she's going to win! Her eyes are still blue. She still has a birthmark on the back of her arm. Her bald spot has completely filled in with downy hairs. I still can't tell what color hair she's going to have. Her eyebrows are still dark but the majority of the new hairs on her head look white. She is fearless and will crawl through anything, never around, she takes on obsticales head first! Often, she will work so hard getting to where she is going that she will start panting! She likes to be under things too. She crawls under the bed, under the piano, under the play set, under Matilda's chair. Sometimes she gets stuck. She loves to stand at the coffee table and just bang on it. She blows raspberries all day long. She loves to taste fruits from her mesh feeder (Matilda hated it.) She has never been interested in a pacifier, or her thumb. She sleeps on her tummy with her bottom in the air and no blankets. Everyone who meets her remarks on her pleasant disposition. She is not shy. She wears 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. She is a difficult companion on long road trips. She likes the show "Blue's Clues." She loves to look at books. She is very tall. She is sweet as sugar and growing way too fast.